Weekend Randomness

March 1, 2015

There's nothing really exciting to report here today, but I thought I'd give you a glimpse at what I'm working on and some things that have been on my mind.

Remember the sewing table I bought super cheap at a yard sale over the summer? Well, I finally started working on it after close to ten months. Please tell me I'm not alone in my need to buy things and then never work on them!

The sewing machine and parts have been removed and I decided to just turn it into a little table. Nothing is being destroyed so if someone out there has a sewing machine and needs somewhere to put it, this will totally work.

The top has been sanded and the base has been painted and distressed with a light gray color. I'm on the fence about what to do with the wood top, though. Normally I would stain it or at least seal it. But this top is really, um, rustic. It has a lot of stains and marks that just won't come out. But for some reason I'm really liking the bare wood.....especially since I distressed the piece a lot. Any thoughts?

It still needs a coat of wax before it can be considered done one way or the other. Right now it is sitting in the living room waiting to be finished. The only place I've had to work on it is in the kitchen because it is definitely too cold to work outside like I normally do, and there isn't any heat in the basement aside from some little heaters so it really isn't idea to work down there either. The kitchen works just fine, though, and the table in the living room serves everyday as a gentle reminder to get it done since I have to look at it while I'm watching TV!

The whole project has been a little bittersweet. The sewing table was purchased from my grandma's neighbor who was clearing out a lot of things after her husband's death. He was the type who liked to hold on to everything even if it was no longer in usable condition anymore. Remember the desk I put back together? After his death, she was finally able to clear out and really do the things she had wanted to do for years like going to church and fixing up the house. She was also helping to keep a watch over my grandma's house and get her mail each day. A few weeks ago, she passed away at the age of 68 from a heart attack.

It is just hard to understand how she was able to have so little time to experience the happiness that she'd been waiting many long years for. Sometimes I just don't understand how life works.

You may also remember me mentioning a few weeks ago about a blogging friend of mine being sued for featuring another person's work on her blog. Just as I do with my Friday features she was choosing pictures that she loved, labeling the pictures with where it came from and linking it to the original site.

Most bloggers appreciate our work being shared under these circumstances. It is just like free advertising. Without paying anything or having to promote our work, those links are bringing traffic to our own blogs. (That isn't to say that there isn't blogs and companies out there who don't steal our work, but that is a whole other story.) That is one reason why we like social media so much. Our work is seen by so many more people simply by liking, pinning, or tweeting. And with Pinterest, we tend to forget that there may be people who aren't interested in their work being shared.

I'm saying all this because another blog friend recently had the same thing happen to a picture in one of their Friday Faves. And neither of these bloggers are being sued for a small amount of money. And neither had been asked for the picture to be removed before receiving their letter.

The whole situation has really put me on edge. I do not want to eliminate my Friday Favorites posts. I enjoy putting them together and I get a lot of great comments and expose my readers to other great blogs and products.

And in addition to those weekly features, I've also shared other's work in popular posts like my decorating with frames and glass canisters. I don't do these posts to get out of doing my own work or because I can't take my own pictures. I do them to illustrate a decorating idea and give inspiration for doing the same in your own home. As someone who hasn't been blogging for that long, I don't have years worth of pictures collected to use ALL my own images.

So I guess my only option is to contact each and every person that I wish to feature before including them to ensure that I am not infringing on a copyright. It is time consuming but the only way to handle this if those posts are to continue. That also means that I'm going to have to go back through all my past posts and get permission for those links as well....and quickly before I am hit with a lawsuit myself. Anyone out there want to help? haha

And finally, I thought I'd share a few links that I've enjoy this past week. (I don't think we can be sued for links, can we?) And no, none of these links are going to lead you to the debate over whether that dress is blue and black or white and gold......And if you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, consider yourself lucky!

When I created my handwritten watermark on my photos awhile back, I knew that there had to be an easier way. And there is thanks to this great tutorial from Earnest Home.

Copyright

All images and text on this blog are property of anderson + grant. Feel free to use one or two photos that link back to the original post and give credit to this blog. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first getting written permission from me. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated!View Disclosure and Privacy Policy